Crafters Dozen – week five!

I hope you’re all staying warm – it’s definitely getting cooler, now that the Shortest Day is looming!

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Well, KIP Day is over for another year, and it was fantastic to see lots of new faces at our Wellington Library and Hutt Library events (see photos). Thanks also to the crew at Eltham Library for sending a pic through. I understand there were great turnouts at other events around New Zealand as well, which is fantastic to hear. Lots of you told me that every day is Knit in Public day for you, as you craft while you are travelling by bus or train to work, or while waiting at children’s sports events etc. I too like to craft as often as I can, so don’t mind if it’s in private or public, as it’s my “zen” time. If I’m having an “ugly” morning at work, I often break out the knitting at lunchtime, just to get myself refocused for the afternoon. And any time we visit friends, the current crafting project comes along. Having said that, I have promised my husband that I won’t embarrass him by breaking out my knitting when we are at the pub. Between his shift work, and my busy schedule with my day job and Crafty Volunteers work, any social time together is actually very precious to me, so I don’t mind putting the project down for a while.

Crafters Dozen – week five

On the fifth week of crafting, the people made with love…

Warm Baby Clothes

Bright cuddly blankets;

Sleeping angel wraps;

Hats, scarves and gloves… and

a Bear for a child in need.

(remember to sing this to the “Twelve days of Christmas” tune)

Everybody can get involved this week; from booties to hats, to cardigans to onesies; there is a multitude of baby creations that can be made by our knitters, sewers and crocheters. I’m sure that you’ve all got your favourite patterns, however if you’re looking for something new, please do feel free to pop on over to our Pinterest page (that the fabulous Shirley pins lots of cool things to). Or of course you can always go looking for new patterns down the Ravelry Hole…

If you’re making tiny items (for premature babies or up to 3/6 months) please ensure you are using wool and not acrylic. Babies this young need the temperature regulation that comes with wool, and acrylic just doesn’t cut the mustard. For babies 3/6 months and above, most charities will accept items made with acrylic. Even though it’s not as warm, they understand that wool is more expensive and they appreciate anything that you are generous enough to make.

Thanks for the wonderful donations that are coming in already for the Crafters Dozen promotion. I personally don’t see everything that we receive, and we try to distribute it to the charities as quickly as possible. Huge thanks to the very organises and busy Anne for all the pick-ups and deliveries that she does so regularly for us. The volumes that come through are truly humbling. And I know that so many of you donate to your chosen charities in your regions directly. Honestly, it’s amazing what I see and hear about the amount of crafting for charity that goes on quietly all around New Zealand. Congratulations to each and every one of you for what you do. Sometimes it might feel like the one small item that you made this month doesn’t make a difference, however, I can assure you that every single contribution definitely makes a huge difference to the stranger out there that receives your gift of love.

I received this pic from one of our Trustees yesterday. Becky’s mother has fallen in love with making bears for us, and mum now wants to raid Becky’s yarn stash to keep making bears. It’s so wonderful that people are sharing the Crafters Dozen project with friends and family, and that more and more people are getting involved. Thank you all so much!

Calls for help in Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin

We have been fortunate enough to be able to help spread the work recently about a couple of organisations that needed help. Check out the Facebook Pages for “Kind Hearts Movement” in Palmerston North, “Knitting for the Christchurch Neonatal”, and “Pregnancy Help Dunedin Otago”. All of these organisations do great work in their community, and we will ensure that some of our the “Warm Baby Clothes” that we receive in as part of this weeks Crafters Dozen head off in those three directions.

Please make sure you tell your friends and family in those regions about these organisations, and ask your friends/ family to support them. Remember – the world spins and everything cycles around… and you never know when someone close to you might benefit from the generosity of others. The “Pay it Forward” philosophy is a wonderful way to live.

Ravelry

I met a fabulous lady at Knit in Public on Saturday, and she offered to create a Ravelry Group for Crafty Volunteers of New Zealand, where we will be sharing info, events, patterns etc. It hasn’t got a lot on it yet, however please feel free to join and invite others to join also. Thanks so much Suz for helping with another means of communication, I look forward to getting to know another group of crafters through this forum, and spending a bit more time down the Ravelry Hole.

Events

I’m going to be updating the events page on our website shortly, as we have been advised of more regular crafting sessions that happen out there in crafty-land. Hopefully I can make it more regionalised, and easier for people to read. If you’re involved in a regular crafting group in your region, please do let us know the details, and we can help promote your group – email us on admin@craftyvolunteers.org.nz .

Crafty Volunteers is primarily a communications tool, so please do use us to help spread the word about your group, your project or your charity organisation.

As always, I do hope you have a lovely, crafty, weekend planned. Thank you to each and every one of you for all that you do.